Chapter 1 - Page 1

The Mischievous Red Fox (Page 1)



My animal is the swift and sly Red Fox. A more commonly know fox. The scientific name for a Red Fox is Vulpes Vulpes. The warm-blooded Red Fox is a mammal. Red Foxes and all foxes are vertebrates. This means they all have backbones. The Red Fox's backbone is flexible for swift movement through woods. The Red Fox is apart of the dog family, but it looks more like a cat than a dog.



The Red Fox has a covering of fur. The fur is thick and rough. Red Foxes are multi-colored. Their fur colors can be rusty red, grey, and a yellow and black mix. The Red Foxes appendages include one long tail, one head, four slim legs, and two flexible ears. Red Foxes are as big as a large house cat. The weight of an adult Red Fox is 20lbs. Their length can be 3 and ½ ft from the nose to tip of the tail. Their length in stance is 15in. The lifespan of Red Foxes can be up to 20 years. They can live up to this age if not hunted by its predators. A common age for a Red Fox is two to three years.



A Red Fox's habitat, or home, is called Den. These are usually made from homes of another animal that moved or died. A Den is like a cave in the ground. They may also have tunnels. Red Foxes are located in the Northern Hemisphere. In the U.S. Red Foxes are scarce. They have a greater population in the North-West Hemisphere. Red Foxes like to live near humans for some reason. The Red Fox is the most successful fox at adapting to climates. They live all over so there are many climates they live in. A Red Fox or any fox in a group is rare. A Red Fox like a tiger, hunts alone, but if you really want to know they're called skulks.



Technically, Red Foxes are of the carnivore category, but they will eat anything including fruit, vegetables, and grains so they really are omnivores. In the fall fruit becomes a big part of its diet. They also are known to eat rabbits, birds, earthworms, eggs, and nuts. When Red Foxes hunt they make holes called food caches. They may keep up to a dozen items in one. Red Foxes hunt nocturnally. That means they hunt at night or early dawn.

A Red Fox's enemy may be a human, wolf, hawk, or even the environment around it. When hunting or protecting itself it will use all its senses. The body parts they might use are their feet and teeth. They'll make screech sound to scare off other foxes that have a potential threat to its home. Their home range may be up to 5mi. The Red Fox is not endangered, even with all the hunting go on.



The mate season for a Red Fox would be in December. Males are allowed to start breeding the spring after their birth. They are usually less than a year old. Female Red Foxes, or vixens, carry their kits for about 52 days and then are born. Vixens give live birth. The babies are sometimes called kits, pups, or cubs. A litter can be up to 14 kits. A more common number is 4 to 5. Not all of the kits will survive. This is due to humans, other animals, or even the environment around them. A litter of 4 might have 2 to 3 survivors. In a family of Red Foxes most of the time the vixen will take care of the litter. The male Red Fox, or Dog, will go hunt for the family. Sometimes an older daughter stays to help with the kits. They'll stop caring for the kits at 6 months old. By that time, they would have learned how to hunt on their own. [Go To Next Page]

t.ound may be a human, wolf, hawk, or even the evilimates they live in. A Red Fox or any fox in a group is rare. A Red Fox like

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